Directions

Place beans in a large bowl and add 1 gallon water. Stir in two tablespoons kosher salt. Set aside at room temperature and let rest overnight. The next day, drain and rinse beans. Transfer to a large Dutch oven. Add bay leaf, split onion, and 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a bare simmer, cover, and cook until beans are completely tender and skins are loose, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Discard onion and bay leaves. Drain beans, reserving liquid. (See note above for pressure cooker or canned bean variations).

Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeño (if using) and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add beans and chipotle (if using) and cook, folding with a wooden spoon until homogenous. Add 2 cups of reserved bean liquid. Mash beans with a potato masher until desired consistency is reached, adding extra cooking liquid as necessary to loosen to desired texture. If smoother texture is required, use a hand blender or a food processor to process beans to desired texture. Season with salt to taste. Serve. Uneaten beans can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cut the stem of the artichoke so there is an inch or two remaining. Cut an inch off the spiky top of the leaves and tear off the tough outer leaves.
3. Take one half of the lemon and rub the inside flesh of the lemon on the cut surfaces and around the outside where you removed the leaves. Then cut the artichokes in half from top to stem. Using a sharp paring knife or a spoon; scrape out the fuzzy interior that sits inside the heart and about 2 layers of the very inside leaves. Rub this with lemon as well and place them all on a baking sheet.
4. Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl (removing any seeds) and mix in the oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture in between the leaves over the cut interior. Lay the artichokes cut side down on the baking sheet and coat the outer leaves in oil that has dripped onto the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until the heart is nice and tender.

5. Serve immediately with the scallion vinaigrette, or without is just fine!

Scallion Vinaigrette

Ingredients

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons wine vinegar

4 scallions including green tops, chopped

6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 1/4 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1 cup olive oil

Instructions

In a small glass or stainless-steel bowl, whisk together the mustard, the rema4 tablespoons vinegar, the scallions, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and the ground pepper. Add the oil slowly, whisking. Serve each artichoke with a small bowl of vinaigrette alongside for dipping.

When anyone has a dietary restriction, the holidays can be tough. Sometimes grandma’s famous fudge and Aunt Judy’s cranberry sauce just doesn’t work for ya anymore. It’s ok! Don’t over think it, keep it simple, and keep it good!!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
1 whole head garlic
6 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons vegan buttery spread (such as
Earth Balance), or extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup rice milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Thinly sliced scallion or minced chives for garnishDIRECTIONS
Remove some of the papery outer layers from the garlic but keep the cloves intact. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 350-degree F. oven or 375-degree F. toaster oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cloves are soft.

When cool enough to handle, gently separate the cloves from the head of garlic and squeeze the soft pulp out of each clove into a small bowl and discard the outer skin.

In the meantime, cover the diced potatoes with plenty of water in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer steadily but gently, covered, until the potato dice are very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes, then drain.

In a large, shallow bowl, combine the cooked potato dice with the Earth Balance or olive oil and stir until melted. Add 1/4 cup of rice milk and the reserved garlic pulp and mash the potatoes until smooth and fluffy. If needed, add up to an additional 1/4 cup of rice milk to loosen the consistency.

Polar vortex? yep, it’s cold. Time to get warm and try to not fatten up in the meantime. I’m inside blogging right now, instead of outside running. It’s also 48 degrees out, so there is no way I would walk farther than my mailbox right ow 🙂 So lets throw around the kettle bell in the living room a bit, do some body weight exercises and then eat right. Enter into the shrooming zone! I love mushrooms, and used to hate them. I also love the wholesome feeling of a nice warm soup on a Sunday night. Enough talking…more recipe…

Instructions
1. In a soup pot, melt coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 5-8 minutes or until translucent. Add assorted mushrooms and sauté for 8-15 minutes until browned and juices are mostly evaporated. Add wine and deglaze pot, scraping any browned bits off the bottom.
2. Reserve half of the mushrooms and onions and place into a blender.
3. Add 1 can coconut milk and blend until smooth. Add pureed mushrooms, remaining coconut milk and 2 cups stock into pot. Add more stock if soup is too thick for your liking.
4. Season soup with thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Simmer soup over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Long time no talk! I so super duper apologize for not blogging sooner, but I have been absolutely loving my new locale: North Carolina. Today I heard tons of people complaining it was hot out…yeah it was 84 with a mountain breeze. That’s pretty much heaven to me!!! And this state actually has seasons!!! Big change from Florida. Along with the seasons are SEASONAL VEGGIES!!! A girl can’t ask for much more than that! I get to drive past THREE…count them….THREE different local farm stands on my way home from work everyday. Today I stopped by and this huge bunch of rainbow chard was talking to me. It was exactly like those Pier One commercials where the sock monkey talks to mid-20 something fashionable girl into buying him. Only mine situation was rainbow swiss chard screaming at this 30 something saying “damn I would look good in your saute pan with some garlic!”.

GARLIC RAINBOW SWISS CHARD

2 tablespoon of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (ok you can do two cloves if you are whimpy!)

Huge news!!! I have moved to North Carolina and love it!! I have a wonderful boyfriend in the area, as well as his amazing family. There are awesome UNBELIEVABLE running trails. I have truly enjoyed moving to a new state and making some new friends. I have found some of my “go to” ingrediants, checked out the local farmers market today, and most importantly joined the local running group. Worse part of the move: POLLEN!!! While the netti pot works wonders, so does a nice warm soup!

I have tested a great low budget recipe in order to clear those sinuses and feel amazing….introducing

Warning: Snacking food recipe to follow!!! I have made this same snack for years, but recently realized that I have changed and edited my methods on this recipe a few times to make it better and better. I thought it would be nice of me to share 🙂 Check out this throw-back pic of me with brown hair and freshly applied braces….yeah you can only image what it’s like getting kale out of braces!